Tubular tag.



M. H. LouHmDGE.

TUBULAR'TAG. APPLICATiON FILED DEC. 15. i911A 1,298,981 Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

T N [f SS [f S MATTHEW H. LOUGHRIDGE, or ioaoTA, NEW JERSEY.

TUEULAR TAG.

Specification of Letters Patent.

1 Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

Application led` December 15, 1917. Serial No.'207,333.

T 0 all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, MATTHEW H. LOUGH# RIDGE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bogota, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tubular Tags, of which the following is a specilcation.

This invention relates to tags and particularly to tags of a tubular formation for attaching to cylindrical bodies. Its objects arev to provide an inexpensive tag that may be readily appliedv or removed, that will not corrode and willwithstand weather conditions without materially aecting the designation on the tag; also to provide protection for the article to which it is applied.v

In the accompanying drawings my invention is shown in its application to` an insulated wire in which, Figure 1, shows the tag in place, Fig. 2 is a back view of the t-ag l by itself, Fig. 3, is a sectional elevation on the plane of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 shows an application, partly in section, where the tag is of larger diameter than the wire, Fig. 5 is an end view of a tag having a special portion V.

for the designation.

Insulated wires of the character shown arev usually applied in exposed and outdoor work. The conductor 1l has a covering of a rubber compound 13, which is usually protected by a tape or a braid or both, as indicated at 15. In railway signal work, telephone work and the like, these wires are usually led to a row of terminals similar to 12 where the insulation is stripped from them as at 14 to make electrical connection with the terminal. It is necessary to be able to tell the function of each'individual wire and for this purpose they are tagged. At present this tagging is done with a piece of sheet fiber which is fastened by a length of twine to the wire. This has the disadvantage that the twine slips on the wire, it deteriorates with exposure, becomes entangled and is eventually lost. This invention avoids these defects by placing the tag on the wire as shown in Fig. 1, so that it actually forms part of, and protects the insulation of the wire.

These tags must, obviously, be of insulating material as otherwise they would be liable to corrodeand to cause short circuits between the eX osed terminals or ends of wires. The designation of the wires, as for instance, the charactersf126 Lal-IC 10 in Fig. l, is embossed on the tag 21 by an embossing punch; thus these characters become an integral part ofthe tag and cannot be etfaced by exposure 'to the weather.

This tag is made from a springy resilient material and has a longitudinal segment cut away from the back a shown in Fig. 2. It is desirable, although not essential, that this segment be cut on a taper having one end 24 wider than the other end 25. The longitudinal opening of the tag is applied to the wire and by the pressure of the thumb it is snapped into place, the resilience of the material making this possible., The tag can also be removed from the 'wire by the pressure of the lingers and by bending the wire out through the slot. Where the slot is tapered the wide end facilitates placing and removing of the tag.

The elasticity of a tag is influenced by the thickness of its walls, by'its diameter and by the hardness of the fiber from which it is made. Hard fiber is'preferred owing to Aits mechanical strength. For this reason and drel areJ suitable for these tags, but any resilient insulating material in which the outer "and inner fiber stresses are so arranged that they have no tendency to flatten out and which maybe embossed, will be found suitable for these tags.

The tag should, preferably, be a snug fit for the wires and the edges of the slot 32', Figs. 2 and 5. should preferably, slope outwardly to facilitate attachment, this slope acting as an inclined plane when the tag is forced into position.

When the insulting material of the wire is liable to shrink with age, the tagmay be dented as shown at 23, Figs. 1 and 3, a portion of the hard fiber of the tag being forced into the insulation. The tags may be dented before being placed on the wire or they may be dented by special pliers after being placed. Tags dented invthis manner cannot change their position on the Wire.

Tags may be applied to 'Wires of smaller diameter than the interior diameter of the tag and prevented from sliding thereon by the expedient shown in Fig. 4. Wire of the kind described is easily bent and by .making a kink 28 in it as shown, the increased'size of opening 27 is taken care of by engaging the Wire on all sides.

Tags are most commonly used at the ends of Wires where they connect to terminals or other Wires. In this case the braiding of the Wire is cut as at 15a and the insulation removed as at 14, Fig. 1, to make the connection. It has been found by experience that the end of the braiding has a tendency to fray, leaving the rubber insulation unprotected which cracks and falls away from the Wire. The tag disclosed in this invention serves the double purposeof protecting'the braiding and insulation at such points by inlcasing it in a mechanically stron insulating sleeve which prevents fraying o the end of the insulation and absorbs any mechanical' jar that it may receive.

Fig. 5 shows a section Where a. Wide embossing space is provided or a section that may be preferable for small tags where the flat space 31 is provided for the designation. Attention iscalled to the fact that these tags may readily be applied or removed without in any Way disturbing the connections ofthe wire.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A marking system for electric Wires conf sisting of a Wire, an insulatingcoverin for a portion of said Wire, a one piece tu ular sleevel of resilient insulating material and having a longitudinal slot, saidl sleeve placed on said Wire by means of said slot near the end of said insulation and fitting it snugly.

. 2. A marking system for electric Wires con-` '"sisting of a wire, a soft rubber insulation for said Wire, a one piece tubular sleeve of hard fiber having a longitudinal slot less' than a semi-circle, said sleeve placed on 'said Wire by means of said slot and having an embossed designation to distinguish said Wire.

4. A marking system for electric Wires con-l sisting of a Wire, an insulatingvcovering for said Wire, a one piece tubular sleeve of resilient insulating material and having a tapering longitudinal slot, said sleeve placed von and removed from said Wire by means of said slot. h 5. A marking system for electric Wires consisting of a Wire, an insulating covering for said Wire, aI one piece tubular sleeve of hard liber fitting onto said Wire, said liber being dented into said insulating covering.

6. A marking system forfelectric Wires consisting of a Wire, an-insulating covering for said Wire, a one piece tubular tag embossed with a designation distinguishing said Wire, said tag fitting onto said Wire and being partially embedded in said insulating-covering.

7. A marking system consisting of a cylindrical member, a one piece cylindrical tag to fit it snugly, said covering provided With a longitudinal slot by means of Which it mayvbe placed onor removed from said insulated conductor.

9.' A device for marking electrical Wires consisting of a one piece cylindrical sleeve of insulating material and having a longil tudinal slot, said sleeve marked With the designation of said Wires and placed in posi- "tion by means of said slot.

In testimony whereof I hereto subscribe my name in the presence of two Witnesses.

p MATTHEW H. LOUGHRIDGE.

Witnesses:

' W. J. ECOLES,

TILLIE E. LoUGHRIDGE. 

